This invention relates, in general, to optical sample measurement systems, and in particular, to a system for measuring a sample with a layer containing a periodic diffracting structure.
In semiconductor wafer processing, or similar applications, one frequently encounters the measurements of the dimensions and/or profiles of structures etched in thin films, such as contact holes etched in a resist film or in a dielectric layer. The conventional method for measuring the dimensions and/or profiles of the structures is by means of a spectroscopic scatterometry or spectroscopic critical dimension measurements (SCD). In the current SCD method, the spectrum of specular reflectance of a wide band light beam is used to measure parameters, such as height, width or diameter (also known as critical dimension), and wall angle of an array of contact holes or lines etched in the film. To perform the measurements, the reflectance spectra are calculated using a model of the structure, as a function of the model parameters. An algorithm is then used to find the best values of the model parameters that fit the spectra. If there are multiple model parameters that need to be accounted for in the model of the structure, the calculation of the spectra is time-consuming, and becomes impractical to complete in real time (such as in a few seconds).
To avoid this problem, in a variant of the current method, a neighboring area of the film or layer on the wafer not containing the structures is measured independently to obtain the thickness information. Assuming that the film or layer of the neighboring area and the film or layer with the structures of interest (e.g. contact holes) have the same film index and thickness characteristics, such thickness value may be subsequently used in the construction of the structure model, thereby reducing the number of model parameters. This results in reducing modeling complexity and calculation time.
The above-described conventional methods are disadvantageous for a number of reasons. First, simplifying the modeling by first performing independent and separate measurements of a neighboring area may not always be possible, since such neighboring areas may not be always available. Even if such area is available, the film thickness in such area may be substantially different from the thickness or height of the etched film structure of interest. If no separate measurements are performed on a neighboring area, and as noted, the calculation may take too much time for applications where the calculations must be preformed in real time. It is therefore desirable to provide an improved system whereby the above-described shortcomings are overcome.